I have been reading some of your posts about food and tastes that have changed since your fibro dx's. I have an uncontrollable craving for chocolate that is persistant and driving me crazy. I was so desperate today that I shot several blasts of Hershey's syrup out of the bottle into my mouth. I finally sent the hubby to the store for several items(it was really snowing hard or I would have gone myself) and asked him to bring me something chocolate...anything. He got an Entenmanns fudge cake. I was all set to whack myself off a slice and just happened to check the label..."may contain peanuts/almonds". I am allergic to nuts. So there it sits on the counter ready to be returned as I never cut into it.

What do you think it is...the endorphins chocolate is supposed to release?? Do any of you have cravings for certain foods that you never had before? I feel like I am pregnant...I used to get up in the middle of the night and eat tomatoes out of the can.

I read that one of the symptoms of fibro is a craving for carbs...also the Lexapro I take has the same warning.

i found that if i have cravings for chocolate the darker chocolate is better usually anything above 60% cocoa in it one square is usually enough as long as i let it melt in my mouth milk chocolate does nothing for me

i find i have a very bad carb and sweet cravings...... usually for things like jolly rancher candy or starchy things like rice or breadDiagnosed - fibromyalgia 2001

In my case, I USED TO crave chocolate like crazy (especially around my time of the month) and I NEVER do now anymore.. maybe because I refuse to eat or drink anything at all with caffeine in it... maybe my head subconsciously is keeping me away from the chocolate for that reason... I don't touch the stuff, nor do I ever crave it anymore.

However, I do find that I crave carbs A LOT.. that's a recent thing as well. Is that really a symptom of Fibro? I've never eaten so much bread in my life lol

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21 years old

Fibromyalgia, Bipolar, OCD, Dependent Personality Disorder

"You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you." -Mary Tyler Moore

I know amitriptyline causes sweet and carb cravings so for any of you that is on it that could be the reason. I know I can't get off the amitriptyline, after my try last spring, so I have to deal with it.

I do think our bodies crave things that give energy trying to make up for our lack of it. I couldn't go without my Diet Pepsi although I do not drink any caffeine after 5:00 pm so I can sleep better.

I was reading the comment about chocolate containing "canibinoids/ cannabinoids" in chocolate so I decided to do some research because I'd never heard of that before. (please don't take it as a criticism...just my curiosity) I couldn't find any scientific research that lists it as a compound in chocolate. Below is what I did find...

I want to make sure people understand there are no cannabinoids in chocolate, possibly other chemicals that affect the same area of the brain that it does. It's the Theobromine and added caffeine that helps bring on those pleasurable feelings.

Chutzie

***********************From Wikipedia:Chocolate contains a variety of substances, some of which have an effect on body chemistry. These include:

* Sugar * Theobromine, the primary alkaloid in cocoa and chocolate[76] and partly responsible for chocolate's mood-elevating effect * Tryptophan, an essential amino acid and precursor to serotonin * Phenethylamine, an endogenous alkaloid sometimes described as a 'love chemical;[77] it is quickly metabolized by monoamine oxidase-B and does not reach the brain in significant amounts * Caffeine, present only in very small amounts[76]

Chocolate is a mild stimulant to humans mainly due to the presence of theobromine.[78] It is much more potent for horses, and its use in horse racing is prohibited.

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From CNN report at this site: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/indepth.food/sweets/chocolate.cravings/index.html

"Other researchers have also said chocolate contains substances that might mimic the effects of marijuana, boosting the pleasure you get from eating the stuff.

The ingredients might make the texture, smell and flavor of chocolate more enjoyable and combine with other ingredients like caffeine to make a person feel good, researcher Daniele Piomelli speculated.Spread of chocolates

"We are talking about something much, much, much, much milder than a high," said Piomelli, a researcher at the Neurosciences Institute of San Diego. He reported the work with colleagues in the journal Nature.

But a researcher who studies the brain chemistry of marijuana said chocolate contains such low levels of the ingredients Piomelli identified that he doubts they have any effect.

Piomelli found that chocolate contains anandamide, which is also produced naturally in the brain and which activates the same target that marijuana does. "Co-Moderator Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Forums ~~~Fibromyalgia, Ulcerative Colitis, Insulin dependent diabetic, PTSD, dermatitis herpetiformus, osteoarthritis and a few other side dishes. *************** Happiness is something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for."

My wife is a comfort eater to begin with, but she has been doing "chocolate therapy" for a while now. She's had a lot to deal with - families suffer from our conditions just like we do. I can tell when she's getting borderline depressed by watching the amount of junk she is easting. I'm trying to get her to see our ARNP since her Lexapro isn't enough.

From what I see, I think there is something to the theory that chocolate produces some endorphins and serotonin. The caffeine may be a small part of it too.

Rich

Lyme, anxitey, depression, chronic C. Pnuemoniae

"... expect the unexpected ..." (O. Wilde)

"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." (Mark Twain)

I crave peanut butter, and chocolate. Not together. Or well together's good too. I have always chocolate, but lately I crave pb&j.Fibro, interstitial cystitis, migraines, rotated femur, bunion on rt ft, hiatal hernia, for just a few.